Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 Episode 15 – Quick Summary
In Fire Force Season 3 part 2 episode 15, “Birth,” Benimaru may have defeated his old boss returned in doppelganger form, but the stylistic visual effects on the waves, and even on the moon, remained. Hibana drew a startling conclusion from those facts. Meanwhile, Shou led Arrow on a search for his mother and the circumstances of his and Shinra’s births. He was not prepared for what he found!
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 Episode 15
Shou surprised Arrow. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Arrow has been my favorite White Clad character since her battle against Takehisa Hinawa back in episode 20. She’s one of those principled villains. She believes in her cause, and she’s not on good terms with Haumea. I can respect both of those things!
She decided to betray the White Clad to follow Shou into the world. The little dude’s on a quest to understand who he is; who is family is; and what it all means. His first goal: find his father’s name. So, they followed a logical course: they first visited the local government facility that housed his family’s register.
His dad wasn’t listed.
Now, Shou didn’t just waltz in and ask for help. He stopped time. They visited the hospital in the hopes they had written down something there. Arrow asked if he intended to stop time again.
“Of course,” he answered (09:04). He vanished. Startled, she called after him. An instant later, he appeared behind her. He stated the obvious (“Behind you”) and said he’d be right back.
Arrow was astonished and said (09:19), “The commander played a prank. That’s rare.”
I guess our little Shou is growing up!
Favorite Moment from Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 Episode 15
The words of Mari’s mother stung. But Mari was stronger than her mother. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Fun with Theology!
If you’re new here, you might not know that I have a degree in theology. It’s only a bachelors, but I still had three main areas of concentration: moral systematic theology, Christology, and eschatology. The latter is the study of the end times, or more generally, the disposition of souls relative to the divine at the conclusion of time.
You can see how this episode’s reveals about the conditions of Shou and Shinra’s births could be interesting from two of those three concentrations!
I like how the show plays with those ideas. I know that it’s fashionable to loudly proclaim “Apostate!” if this or that work doesn’t precisely portray a viewer’s theological opinion. Put another way, it’d be like me detecting a theological idea that’s not completely aligned with Thomistic incarnational Christology and screaming that the writer was going straight to hell. Not passing go. Not collecting $200. And as one of those with the true knowledge, I was going to cackle and eat popcorn as I watched them burn.
Hibana’s good at figuring things out. Good thing, too – there’s a lot for her to figure out! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Something tells me that’s a less than healthy attitude. Less than sensible, too. Also completely in error. We’re talking about fiction here. Fiction is supposed to play with ideas.
That’s why I enjoyed this episode so much. No, it’s not a direct representation of the theological concepts I’d point to and say, “Yep. That’s a) what I learned and b) what I currently endorse.” But it starts in that vicinity and works it way along the narrative’s different ideas.
That’s just fun to watch play out.
Anyway. My favorite moment deals with Mari. Whose name is really close to Mary. Which can’t possibly be coincidence. Good on them for following their themes! Mari was a paragon of motherhood. She had no idea how she conceived. Yes, it bothered her, but primarily because of society’s pressure on her. Her main concern was pragmatic and endearing.
Delivery: Mari Was a Good Mom
She wanted her little one to be loved.
That’s why I was ready to climb through my computer screen and commence to smacking on Mari’s mom. Mari was in the hospital bed, holding baby Shinra. Mari’s mom barged in, all self righteous in the way of folks who really have no idea of the purpose of theology, and berated Mari. Over and over. Like, I thought Mari might need a lunch break, it went on so long.
Mari took it. She was apparently ready for it. She put up with it silently. Then mom started in on Shinra. She said that Shinra was “a child no one wants” (17:50). Then she got really mean. Mom said (17:54), “Instead of us, your parents, you chose the filthy baby of a man who’s no better than trash!”
Mom reached for the baby. Mari protected him. After saying that the child would bring only misfortune, mom left and slammed the door.
This person deserves a stern talking to. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Put yourself in Mari’s position. It would be easy to rage about an unsupportive mother. It would be easy to curse her fate. She was in a position that even the most supportive doctors and nurses questioned. She could have felt sorry for herself.
Instead, Mari focused on Shinra.
“It’s all right,” she said in a gentle voice (18:25). “You aren’t an unwanted child. You’re the hero this world needs, Shinra!”
So, following Mari’s lead, I won’t go off on the close-minded stupidity of her mother. Instead, I’ll praise how great a mom Mari had been. And therefore, how much of a tragic character she is, given what was going to happen to her shortly after Shou’s birth. This show certainly doesn’t pull its punches for gentle souls like Mari.
What did you think of Hibana’s analysis at the beginning? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 Episode 15: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Fire Force season 3 – Episode 15
- But Why Tho? REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 15 — “Birth”
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 1: Indomitable Resolve
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 2: Prisoner
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 3: Incarnation of Flame
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 4: Golden Secret
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 5: Chance Meeting with an Arch-Enemy
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 6: Beyond Prayer’s End
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 7: Sleeping Truth
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 8: Holy Mother of Darkness / The Knight King’s Great Adventure
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 9: Holy Sword, Resurrected
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 10: Advent
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11: The Great Kaiju Battlefront
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 12: The Madness of the Distant Past
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 13: Unaware
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 14: With the Sun At His Back
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 15: Birth
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 16: Savior
- Fire Force Season 3 Episode 17: At the Center of the World
